1. Field
Embodiments relate to a battery management system and a driving method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles that use internal combustion engines whose main fuels are gasoline or heavy oil have serious influence on pollution such as air contamination. Therefore, in recent years, electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles are being developed to reduce pollution.
An electric vehicle uses an electric motor operated by electrical energy output from a battery. Such an electrical vehicle may use a battery having a battery pack in which a plurality of rechargeable battery cells are contained as a main power source. Accordingly, an electric vehicle does not generate exhaust gas and reduces noise.
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more types of power sources, e.g., an internal combustion engine and an electric motor (or battery-motor). Currently, combined hybrid vehicles that use both an internal combustion engine and a fuel battery directly obtaining electrical energy using chemical reactions occurring when hydrogen and oxygen are continuously supplied or both a battery and a fuel battery are being developed.
The number of battery cells employed by a vehicle using an electric motor (or battery-motor) is increasing to enhance power. Accordingly, a battery management system (hereinafter, referred to as “BMS”) for efficiently managing control of sensing of the cell voltages of the employed battery cells and balancing of the battery cells is employed in the vehicle.
Meanwhile, when the number of battery cells in a vehicle using an electric motor (or a battery-motor) needs to be increased, both the hardware and software of the BMS needs to be changed according to the increase in the number of battery cells. Thus, when the number of battery cells increase, costs for changing a software program as well as a hardware structure for the BMS are incurred.